Operation Black Bear
Operatsiya Chernyĭ Medvedʹ (Operation Black Bear) was the major Trigunian military operation during the Great Sekowian War. Preparations Order of Battle 5th (107, 108, 109 & 110 Naval Infantry Regiments) & 8th (175th, 176th, 181st, & 184th Naval Infantry Engineering Regiments) Naval Infantry Divisions 1st, 9th (Light Armor), 10th Naval Infantry Divisions 4th (23rd, 27th, 34th, 35th regiments) & 2nd (2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th) Naval Infantry Divisions 7th Naval Infantry Division (124 Light Armor, 125, 128, 129 Regiments) 1st Helicopter Infantry Battalion 1st Naval Special Forces Command Invasion Phase I - 7 July 2964 seizure of Port du Montrouis, small port town in Bizena prefecture in Sekowo by 5th (107, 108, 109 & 110 Naval Infantry Regiments) & 8th (175th, 176th, 181st, & 184th Naval Infantry Engineering Regiments) Naval Infantry Divisions -- called Command A; only 107 & 110 regiments take part in actual invasion, 8th Division is combat engineers responsible for building, repairing and enlarging port facilities & establishing defenses and logistics in town - Naval Infantry forces land by helicopter at dawn (roughly 0515); seize strategic locations overlooking Beach A and Beach B - more Naval Infantry forces land by amphibious vehicles on Beaches A & B around 0530 - pre-planned objectives are taken, small firefight around docks at 0539; town and docks considered secure at 0550 - 5th divisions spreads out to low hills several miles outside town, establish defensive works - port facilities fixed up, by 2100, 30,000 infantry and 100 vehicles disembarked - probes sent eastward looking for Sekowian forces; find none - 9 July 2964, early morning reconaissance patrol run into Sekowian paramilitaries, firefight, one vehicle ddestroyed and two damaged, three Trigunians killed & 2 wounded, estimated dozen Sekowian casualities - day 9 July, Sekowian paramilitary reconnaissance-in-force made contact with forces of 1st Batallion, 110 regiment; several running battles along the lines, Trigunians resort to naval fire mission and airstrike support, pushes Sekowians back, no losses to Trigunians, estimated 100-200 casualties to Sekowians, including 64 captured Phase II Capture of Fulcre - 10 July 2964, with beachhead secure; 1st, 5th, 9th (Light Armor), 10th Naval Infantry Divisions (Command Force B) push forward toward Fulcre - meet Sekowian paramilitaries in small villages of Sagna, Picard & L'El which were bypassed by armored thrust and advanced infantry, surrounded by 110th Regiment of 5th Division that stormed the town under airstrikes and naval bombardment; town had refused to surrender but civilians were allowed to lave town before bombardment commenced - Trigunians found most paramilitaries dazed and disoriented; more than 400 captured in Sagna, 100 in Picard & 40 in L'El; most wounded - estimated that in all three villages totaled 130 dead paramilitaries - total, Trigunians moved 76 kilometers inland, reaching and taking Fulcre without resistance; night patrols sent out to scout paths in front - total casualties for Trigunians was 7 dead and 12 wounded Advance on Elaia - 11 July 2964; dawn push 29 kilometers toward major city of Elaia, which possessed important bridges across Bizena River; met fierce resistance when reaching suburbs, airstrikes and artillery bombardment did not deter defenders - 1st division swept northward, 9th & 10th swept southward to flank city; both met fierce resistance; - 1st held up on Highway B3 heading north by 16th Legion, the Legion Sécowonnais; 1st formed and attacked using aistrikes to form breakthrough but were outflanked by several platoons of Sekowian armor which stemmed attack, airstrikes were used to force Sekowian armor back as Trigunians forced to pull back to consilidate positions; - many casualties on both sides, Trigunians suffered most including destruction of seventeen armored vehicles - half of 1st pushed straight north along Highway B5 to outflank Sekowian armored forces, succeeded and surprised the armor, destroying several vehicles before they escaped eastward; but reserves had no heavy weapons to continue pursuit and kept busy trading shots with paramilitaries in the fields and woods; reinforced by reserves who used B5 to push further north before swinging east with the objective of capturing the low Sparrow Hills in the suburbs overlooking Elaia; from there, the Trigunians could observe Sekowian movements and settle artillery and rocket batteries for use as interdiction and direct fire support - 9th & 10th faced tougher resistance around southern suburbs; met up against one Sekowian infantry, one armed division, and two paramilitary divisions in defensive positions running perpendicular to the major Bizena river; after initial probe, Trigunians used airstrikes to soften up targets before attacking, members of 10th broke through on the southern (right) flank along the river but were forced back after Sekowian infantry reserves threaten to cut them off, one company of armored infantry held of Sekowian infantry long enough for the advanced armor of the division to escape through the salient - 9th and remaining 10th forces were forced out of the suburbs by mid afternoon, only to reform and counterattack by 1700 and regain the ground they had possessed that afternoon - meanwhile, 5th division pushed into western suburbs of Elaia meeting resistance from heavily armed paramilitary forces; airstrikes proved ineffective as Sekowian fighters engaged the Trigunian bombers and their escorts; a wild melee above the city ensued in which both sides suffered several losses and retreated; soon, two Trigunian fighter squadrons protected the infantry, but the fighter-bomber were not recalled as they were few in number - using their limited supply of artillery for support, 5th division pushed forward; relied on initiative and ingenuity of local commanders who advanced up to four miles into the suburbs at parts - advanced was stemmed around the Tiashun Mall, which had been occupied by the command elements of the paramilitaries; artillery was called in which turned the Mall into rubble, which the defenders used to create a fortress; several strongpoints were erected where Trigunian artillery and infantry were unable to root out the defenders, eventually, most regiments of the 5th bypassed the mall, leaving it for the 110th regiment to surround and capture which they were unable to do before nightfall Fight for Elaia - lasted four days; ended with Trigunian forces taking the city, but not declared secure and one whole division left behind to serve as garrison force along with several MP and Engineer battalions - Sekowians used sewer systems to move soldiers and defend strong points; sewers proved good for protection from bombardment and used as headquarters and front-line hospitals - 9th and 10th punched through Sekowian defenses using pre-dawn night attack, routing paramilitary infantry in front - 9th slammed into regular Sekowian division and was checked for several hours, but by mid-morning had resumed moving southeast pushing regulars back - 10th slid behind 9th and swung north through the suburbs, using the highway and rail cuts to rapidly advance, keeping the Sekowian armored division off balance - initially moved southeast through southern suburbs before swinging north in an attempt to surround the city and its defenders - meanwhile, 1st division to the north of Elaia, captured Sparrow Hills and during the night brought up its heavy artillery and rocket reserve units; dug in 1st beat off several night attacks by the Sekowian 16th Legion - in morning, used artillery and rocket fire to dislodge 16 Legion from the suburbs and countryside and 1st moved quickly to fill in the gap created under a rolling barrage; artillery & rockets on Sparrow Hills estimated to have fired 20 tons of high explosives at Sekowian forces in and around the city in the fight - 1st advanced three miles, using main roads and highway system - in the city, 5th division was having pushing through the city; 110th regiment surrounded but was unable to dislodge defenders from the Tiashun Mall; room to room fighting took place inside the mall; the central escalator changed hands seventeen times in the fighting before finally falling to Trigunian bayonet charge under the cover of smoke at nightfall - rest of division given sectors of the city to push out paramilitaries; northern sectors proved easier than the southern ones, however, after the breakthrough of the 10th and 9th divisions to the south, most major Sekowian units pull back under threat of being surrounded - 107th Naval infantry tasked with central business district of city; attacked first skyscraper Yamashita Insurance building using snipers and missile units in surrounding buildings for cover fire and advanced floor by floor; volunteer infantry roped down from helicopters onto the roof and several top floors to fight way down - took six hours to declare building secure, by then, had to move on to next building (Timelife Building); tried the same tactics, but one helicopter was shot down as dropping infantry, this plus the loss of 200 men in both buildings convinced commander to pull troops out, including ziplining infantry in the top floors to adjacent buildings with intense covering fire, and place large demolition charges in bottom floors and imploding the building whole in massive explosion and dustball, troops wore gas masks to protect against dangerous toxins thrown into the air - after this explosion, loudspeakers brought up to call for any people or soldiers to surrender the building or collapse in the explosion; 1700 paramilitaries and over 5100 civilians exited series of buildings by nightfall - by midnight, 107th regiment had finished whole business district, while small volunteer "wolfpack" companies systematically checked buildings in the "secured" area for Sekowian infiltration, engaging in dozens of small firefights - - Trigunia - 1,859; 328 dead & 1,531 wounded - Sekowo - 4,921; 904 dead & 1,234 wounded, 2,783 captured Phase III - two objectives, protect beachhead & link up with Hulstrian army to the north - moved south toward Kazuo to protect flank - moved north toward Hulstrian border Advance on Kazuo - 15 July 2964 - move south along coast toward city of Kazuo using Coastal Route 1A - Kazuo was a larger port than Port du Montrouis, also it was to protect right flank from possible Sekowian advance from the south - involving 4th (23rd Light Armor, 27th, 34th, 35th regiments) & 2nd (2nd, 6th Light Armor, 7th, 8th) Naval Infantry Divisions -- Command Force D - led by 23rd Infantry regiment which was the Light Armor unit; using helicoptor gunships as support, advanced ten kilometers from Port du Montrouis before contacting enemy - recon-in-force of the 4th battalion ran into advanced elements of the Sekowian 21st Legion holed up in several farm buildings on small hills; about platoon size - helicopter gunships used missiles and automatic cannon fire to soften the defenders before the tanks added their fire to the onslaught; however, the regulars would not bend and the infantry were forced to dismount and attack the defenders with rifles and grenades - in meantime, remaining elements of the 1st Infantry continued forward and bypassed the road segment near the farm houses by using several farm roads and pushed on before running into a battalion size group of the 21st Legion who were advancing - the meeting engagement witnessed major tank-on-tank combat; the Sekowian armor was much stronger and more numerous than the Trigunian forces, and within five minutes, the Trigunians had lost seven of its thirty tanks and were on the verge of retreating - helicopter gunships returned in time to push back the Sekowian armor back, destroying ten tanks; but helicopters came under intense AA and SAM missile fire, downing two helicopters and damaging a further four more before dismounted infantry was able to force back the vehicles under intense RPG and anti-tank missile fire - Sekowian artillery fire stemmed the advance in the mid-afternoon before counter-battery fire silenced them; the weight of the whole division finally forced its way through the stop where it pursued the 21st Legion - sophisticated and heavy Sekowian AAA and SAM sites kept the air support grounded or ineffective - forces advanced through the night and as it came within ten kilometers of Kazuo 1st Battalion was engaged in an escalating night battle that soon involved nearly the entire 1st Infantry - 18 June 2964, Trigunian infantry and light armor made use of superior night vision systems to outflank the exhausted 21st Legion, forcing them to pull back through the city and set up defenses across the Kazuo River, destroying most of the bridges over the river & mining and booby-trapping several portions of the city - during day, 2nd, 6th & 7th Regiments of the 2nd Division advanced on and encircled the Kazuo military base; finding it almost abandoned but holding a large supply cache rigged with explosives but had failed to explode Link-up with the Hulstrian Army - 17 June 2964 - 7th Naval Infantry Division (124 Light Armor, 125, 128, 129 Regiments) -- Command Force C - moved north along Coastal Route 1A toward Hulstrian border - brushed aside small paramilitary forces; biggest threat were roadside bombs & ambushes by paramilitary guerillas - without proper AAA or SAM protection, air support used to break-up or deter ambushes and attacks by Sekowian paramilitaries - however, a dozen small bands of paramilitaries managed to evade capture and detection in the woods, hills, and mountains of northern Sekowo to act as guerilla bands using hit-and-run tactics - by 19 June 2964, 7th Division moved all 98 kilometers and met up with advanced elements of the Hulstrian 5th Division near the recently-captured town of Masaru - minimal Trigunian casualties due to enemy activity: 2 killed, 37 wounded - Sekowian losses: est. 150; 30 killed/wounded, 120 captured Trigunian Anvil - as Operation Steel Impetus continued to barrel through the northern Sekowian line, defending regular Legions and paramilitaries forced to retreat and ran into the waiting Trigunian Divisions - typical Hammer & Anvil strategy; Hulstrian hammer and Trigunian anvil - most Sekowian forces in the north caught in between the two forces and most surrendered; several fought on; 16th Legion, (Legion Sécowonnais) tore gap east of Elaia between 9th and 1st Divisions and escaped; 36 hour long gap allowed almost three whole Sekowian divisions to escape south and threatened to cut off the 1st Division - heavy fighting around Picard & L'El, and Sparrow Hills outside Elaia; Sekowians destroyed (Picard) or surrended (L'El) but broke through at Sparrow Hills and push southeast around suburbs of city and squeezed between 9th & 1st Divisions near several bridge crossings - breakout was unexpected and Trigunians failed to rig bridges for demolition and were unable to blow them before the Sekowians overran the positions - Sekowian air forces put up brilliant and fanatical defense, keeping attack helicopter gunships grounded and Trigunian and Hulstrian fighter-bombers at bay; thus keeping skies clear of enemy planes while troops retreated to the south - heaviest losses for Trigunians in whole Operation: 3,424; 513 killed, 2,896 wounded, 15 captured or missing -